“I know it’s difficult to understand, but that’s how it is.”
“How long... well, how long has she had... problems with her memory?”
“How long has she had Alzheimer’s? It started a little more than two years ago. One day she told me that there were things she couldn’t remember. We went to see the doctor, and although he never said the word ‘Alzheimer’s,’ he led us to understand that the process would be irreversible. Amelia started to worry. She was in despair thinking that her memory was gradually being erased. And I couldn’t help her because I didn’t know anything about what had happened in her life. And then you appeared, out of the blue. She had the idea of asking you to recover her memories. I tried to persuade her that this was a wild plan, that you were after all a stranger, but she’s always done what she wants... So we asked you to investigate as much as you could. I was surprised when you called me to tell me that you had managed to get as far as 1989.
“And why didn’t you ask Professor Soler?” I asked.
“Pablo... We love him, he’s another member of the family, but Amelia insisted that it had to be you.”
“I suppose you’d rather I didn’t come back here.”
“Do you think it would be necessary? In my opinion, everything’s all been said now, and you have done something of immeasurable value for your great-grandmother. She couldn’t hope to recover her memory, and here you are, giving it back to her. I think that this is the end. You always need to know when the moment comes, and to accept it. Don’t you think?”
And I left their lives forever, becoming one of the last lines in Amelia’s story.
* Spanish people have two surnames, the first taken from one’s father and the second from one’s mother. For example, if your father is Javier Gómez Obeso and your mother is María Sierra Borrachero, then your surname would be Gómez Sierra. [Translator’s note.]
Julia Navarro (Madrid, 1953) is a journalist and a writer. After writing books on current affairs and politics, she published her first novel La Hermandad de la Sábana Santa (The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud) which was an unprecedented success in Spain and quickly escalated to the best-sellers lists, both nationally and internationally.
La Biblia de barro (The Bible of Clay) and La sangre de los inocentes (The Blood of the Innocent) established her as a renowned author, reaching millions of readers all around the world through translations sold in over 30 countries. Her following novel, Dime quién soy (Tell Me Who I Am) is a masterful portrayal of 20th century history enveloped in pages brimming with intrigue, espionage, love, and betrayal, which made readers fall in love with Navarro’s work all over again. Her latest novel is Shoot, I’m Already Dead.
www.julianavarro.es
www.facebook.com/Julia.Navarro.Oficial
Original title: Dime quién soy
eBook edition: February 2014
© 2010, Julia Navarro
© 2014, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, S. A. U.
Travessera de Gràcia, 47-49. 08021 Barcelona
Translation by: James Womack
Cover design: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
Cover photo: Red Square © Adri Berger/Getty Images
All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Contact CEDRO (Spanish Reproduction Rights Center, http://www.cedro.org) if you would like to reproduce a fragment of this work.
ISBN: 978-84-01-34306-3
Conversion to eBook: M. I. Maqueta, S.C.P.
www.megustaleer.com
Índice
Tell me who I Am
Guillermo
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Santiago
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Pierre
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Albert
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Max
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Fiedrich
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Notes
Biography
Credits
Tell Me Who I Am Page 104